Three babies fed ethanol in north discharged from hospital
Three of the six babies who survived being fed ethanol while being treated on the neonatal intensive care ward in northern Nicosia’s emergency hospital were discharged from hospital on Wednesday.
One baby, 20-day-old Mihrimah Toymuradov, died following the incident, and five hospital workers remain in custody after having been arrested. They are expected to appear in court again on Thursday.
In the previous court hearing over the matter last week, it was heard that that “more than one water bottle” was found in the place ethanol was being stored, that only the bottles which contained ethanol was labelled in any way, and that even these labels were only handwritten.
The Turkish Cypriot police also confirmed which of the five hospital workers who were arrested put the ethanol in the kettle to boil, and which of the five had fed the baby using the ethanol.
Questions remain over whether the actual cause of Mihrimah Toymuradov’s death was the ethanol or a ventilator which was allegedly faulty or connected incorrectly, with investigations into the matter ongoing.
Meanwhile, accusations remain to be answered by the north’s ‘health minister’ Hakan Dincyurek. He was reported to the police over Toymuradov’s death, with it having been alleged that the incident was “concealed for a long time”.
Cyprus Turkish nurses’ and midwives’ union chairman Ibrahim Ozgocmen had said that nurses the hospital had suggested informing the families of the situation when it first came to light, but that Dincyurek “did not find this appropriate”.
Ozgocmen had rubbished claims made by Dincyurek on October 27, the day the incident came to light. He had said he had not informed the babies’ families or the public for 30 hours after the baby died because the police would not allow him to do so, saying he had wanted to hide.
Ozgocmen then added that the hospital is being operated in “an environment of chaos” and that doctors “are being forced to do many things outside their job description.”
“The whole order is broken. The health ministry is being run like a party building.”